Viking Star Review
Rating by category
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We took the Moscow-St. Petersburg river cruise (2013) and loved it despite a serious weather event. Then we were on the maiden voyage of the Sea from Istanbul-Venice 2016--unrest in Istanbul caused a schedule change, but we had flown into Istanbul a couple of days early, so we got to see the city.
We excitedly signed up for the Southern Mediterranean Discovery (March 1-8, plus 2 days in Barcelona) **specifically** to go to Tunis and Algiers. A couple of weeks prior to sailing, we were notified that Tunis was being eliminated due to unrest, but Naples was being substituted. OK, well, we'll still have Algiers. The wind at Rome caused us to stay in port more than seven hours past our sail time, which caused us to skip Naples with no port substitution, just a lost visit and a day at sea on the way to Trapani, Sicily. As someone else said, Palermo should have been the port. Very little in Trapani.
From Trapani we sailed to Cagliari, Sardinia. Again, nothing special. Somewhat interesting, but not really worth the stop. On to Algiers. But wait. Nope. Algiers was cancelled because the weather was too bad, they said. Mallorca was substituted. Lovely island, but we arrived so late, no excursions, just enough time for a quick walk in the city. Then to Valencia,which is a beautiful place that we enjoyed. And, finally, Barcelona where, if you didn't sign up for the extension, just like on our earlier 2016 cruise ending at Venice, you got shuttled directly to the airport, so it's not really a stop where you experience anything, but it's billed as one. We, fortunately, were savvy enough this time to extend and had a great time on our own in Barcelona. By far the best part of the trip.
Cabin Review
Very nice cabin, essentially two rooms. Two televisions (the remotes tend to cross over and work the other TV, however), sofa, two chairs, nice veranda. Refrigerator drawer stocked with beer, wine and snacks replenished once a day. A bottle of champagne. I only drank two Cokes, I think, but it was a nice touch. Our steward also took care of our laundry at no extra cost. The constant rave reviews for the bathrooms are well-deserved. My birthday occurred during the cruise and I was surprised at dinner with a huge piece of cake in the Chef's Table restaurant. We had already finished dessert, so they kindly delivered it to our cabin. I had an extra plastic bag, so put it in it and put it in the refrigerator drawer. We had it the next day as a snack. Plus, my husband likes craft beer and the on board selection is severely limited, so he bought a couple of bottles of beer at a couple of stops and chilled them. Glad to have the refrigerator drawer.
Port Reviews
Naples
This was a Tunis replacement port, but it was skipped with no replacement. Had looked forward to Herculaneum, as we've been to Pompeii. Disappointed.
Trapani
Not much in Trapani, especially on a Sunday morning. Palermo would have been a much better stop.
Algiers
This port was skipped because of weather, meaning we did not stop at either African port. Huge disappointment and pretty much ruined the entire point of the trip for us.
Valencia
We enjoyed our visit to beautiful Valencia. The San Junto Caves were not terrific, but it was a pleasant underground boat ride. Probably not really worth the cost of the excursion, though.